Delaware Cares Coalition Statement on End of Delaware’s 2021 Legislative Session

Today the Delaware Cares Coalition for Paid Leave, on behalf of its over 50 member organizations, issued the following statement regarding the closing of the 2021 legislative session:

“Delawareans made clear this legislative session that paid family and medical leave is key to our economic recovery through this pandemic and beyond. We are thrilled to see that with the passage of the FY 2022 Bond Bill, $10 million has been set aside should the General Assembly approve the Healthy Delaware Families Act, SB 1, next year - and they must. This inclusion is a direct result of the thousands of Delawareans who signed petitions, contacted their legislators, shared their stories and joined our movement to make Delaware the 10th state to pass paid family and medical leave.

“So while we have much to celebrate, the work remains unfinished when thousands of Delawareans today are continuing to make impossible choices between their job, their health and their family. Those Delawareans simply cannot wait another year for this bill to pass. After a year of such hardship, paid family and medical leave is part of the solution that will give every Delawarean the chance to live, work, and thrive in the First State.

“The Delaware Cares Coalition is calling on the General Assembly to deliver for Delaware working families by passing the Healthy Delaware Families Act as soon as they return in January. Our families and our future depend on it.”

Putting Paid Leave On The Map In 2021:

The 2021 legislative session saw a groundswell of grassroots support for paid family and medical leave. The need for paid leave policies that recognize the challenges and the opportunities of our changing economy has been a central focus throughout the legislative session:

• In February, over 25 health, faith, labor, business and community organizations launched the Delaware Cares Coalition to pass paid family & medical leave in the First State. That coalition has since grown to over 50 organizations.
  
• In March, the Delaware Office of Women’s Advancement & Advocacy released its “Sounding the Alarm: the Impact of COVID-19 on Delaware Women” report, which included paid family & medical leave as its top recommendation to address the disproportionate burden working women faced from the pandemic.
  
• In April, Delaware’s Senate Leadership released an Op-Ed calling for a paid family and medical leave program, stating it would have a “profound impact on the quality of life in our state.” Shortly after, the Delaware Academy of Medicine - Delaware Public Health Association released a statement endorsing paid family & medical leave as a “public health imperative.”
  
• In May, Senator Sarah McBride, Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, Representative Debra Heffernan and Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst unveiled the Healthy Delaware Families Act, SB 1, with 13 sponsors in the Senate and 18 in the House. The press conference unveiling the legislation included impacted workers, business, health and advocacy leaders who stressed the urgent need for paid family & medical leave.
  
• In June, over 40 groups co-signed a letter to Governor John Carney urging him to support and prioritize the Healthy Delaware Families Act, SB 1. Weeks later, the Delaware legislature set aside $10 million for a statewide paid family and medical leave program start-up funding should the General Assembly approve such a measure when they reconvene next year.